My Journey into the Heart of Terror

My Journey into the Heart of Terror
Ten Days in the Islamic State
Author Jürgen Todenhöfer
Original title Inside IS - 10 Tage im 'Islamischen Staat'
Country Germany
Language German
Genre Memoir
Published Greystone Books
Publication date
 2015
Published in English
 2016
Pages 288
ISBN 978-1-77164-224-8 (Hardcover)

My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days in the Islamic State is a 2016 memoir by the German journalist Jürgen Todenhöfer.

Todenhöfer was the first western journalist to travel to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS), alternatively known as ISIL, to find out the cause of the fighting in Iraq and Syria.[1][2] Todenhöfer describes the experience he and his son went through during the journey in his memoir. Ten Days in the Islamic State consists of 10 chapters[3] on ISIS's ideology and lifestyle. Todenhöfer refutes the description 'Islamic terrorism' and considers the acts of ISIS fighters as non-Islamic.[4]

Author

Jürgen Todenhöfer is a German journalist, and a former judge and politician. In past years he had met with leaders of the Mujahedeen in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan and the Taliban and al-Qaeda. He also visited Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, several times in 2012.[2]

Journey to ISIS self-proclaimed caliphate

In the summer of 2014 Todenhӧfer sent a message on Facebook to more than 80 German ISIS soldiers asking whether he could visit the ISIS fighting cadre. His goal was to understand the motivations of ISIS.[2] On September 9, Abu Qatadah, a 31-year-old German and an important person in ISIS media, answered the message. They had Skype discussions for several months. Finally, Todenhӧfer received a document from the Caliphate guaranteeing his safety.[2] In October 2014, Todenhӧfer was the first western journalist to travel to ISIS-controlled territory. He was accompanied by his filmmaker son, Frederic.[1]

Todenhöfer wrote that he stayed with an ISIS soldier who was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle. The soldier told him that he was sure to return home alive because ISIS wanted to be accepted as a state, so he had the guarantee of safety from their leadership. In other words, violation of the guarantee would mean violation of this state. Todenhӧfer spent most of his time in Mosul, Iraq but he could have visited ISIS-controlled cities in Syria such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.[5]

Context

The author wrote the adventures from before, during and end of his journey in detail. Todenhöfer has been known as an honest and straight-shooting journalist among Westerners and Muslims alike. His report was not written from the perspective of European countries that previously had colonial interests in this region of the Middle-East.[3] My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days in the Islamic State consists of 10 chapters:[3][6]

  1. Birth of the "Islamic State"
  2. How close can we get
  3. Conversation with jihadist
  4. Things get serious
  5. Planning a journey into the heart of terror
  6. Entering the nightmare
  7. Ten days inside the Islamic State
  8. A chilling thought
  9. An open letter to the Caliph of the "Islamic State" and his foreign fighters
  10. Warning to the West

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Staff, Writer. "I know Isis fighters. Western bombs falling on Raqqa will fill them with joy Jürgen Todenhöfer". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Shute, Joe. "Our journey into jihad: the father and son who braved the dark heart of Isis". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Staff, Writer. "ten days with ISIS (Persian)". ibna. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Staff, Writer. "Some interesting parts of Ten days with ISIS (Persian)". mehrnews. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Frankman, Ellen; Raphael, T.J. "Meet The Man Who Spent 10 Days With ISIS and Lived to Tell About It". wnyc. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  6. ↑ Todenhöfer, Jürgen (5 April 2016). My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days in the Islamic State. Greystone Books. p. 288. ISBN 978-1771642248.
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